Renting a houseboat at Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas is one of the easiest vacations for families and seniors alike. Lake Powell offers a slower pace of life, 186 miles of lake views, 96 canyons to explore, serene desert wilderness, and plenty of watersports to keep you occupied. Especially with fall headed our way, summer temps are cooling, giving you fun in the sun all day long.

Do I Need a Boat License to Rent a Houseboat?

No. One of the most common misconceptions about renting a houseboat is that you need to have a boating license. Houseboats only travel at 7 to 10 miles an hour, making them very similar to driving a car in a big open area! So, no boating license or captain’s license is needed to rent a houseboat. As long as your captain has a valid driver’s license and is at least 18 years of age, you’re ready for your houseboat vacation!

Staff will teach you how to operate and safely use the houseboats. While no experience is required, you’ll be an expert in no time!

How Do I Start Planning my Lake Powell Houseboat Rental?

Begin by choosing where on Lake Powell you would like to go. Lake Powell houseboat rentals offer two marinas, each giving a different house-boating experience.

Bullfrog Marina, Utah

Bullfrog Marina is in Bullfrog, Utah at the Northeastern part of the lake, and most convenient for vacationers coming from Colorado, New Mexico, or Northern Utah. This marina is quieter, meaning select boats from the fleet are available for rental at that location. Bullfrog offers gas station services, a hotel, and a restaurant, along with a campground for campers and RVs. Please note that if you choose this location for your houseboat rental, there is one restaurant in the whole area of the Bullfrog Marina. You might want to bring enough groceries to create your culinary delights while out on the water.

Wahweap Marina, Arizona

If you’re wanting one of our larger boats, Wahweap Marina in Page, AZ is the choice for you. Also, if you’re located in California, Arizona, Nevada or Southern Utah, Wahweap Marina is the most convenient. This is the larger of the two marinas, offering restaurants, swimming pools, and other lodgings to bookend your time on the lake.

Choose Your Dates, Best Times to Visit Lake Powell

Lake Powell is located on the Arizona/Utah border in the middle of the desert. This means that the summers are hot, and the spring and fall tend to be milder.

While early spring (March, April, and May) can be quite pleasant, the water can still be cold and require a wetsuit. The months of June, July, and August are the warmest of the season. With schools out,  summers are also the most crowded on the lake. In September, the weather becomes milder and the crowds disperse. October can be a surprisingly great time to visit Lake Powell because the lake is relatively empty, fish tend to be fairly active, and the water is usually still warm enough for skiing or swimming. This is true even into the third week of the month. However, Lake Powell lovers have caught onto this, and oftentimes availability can be competitive through the fall.

Pick your Activities 

Once you have your houseboat and your dates secured, you can spice up your vacation by choosing additional activities. Available at Wahweap and Bullfrog Marinas, you can enjoy your trip with any of the following:

• Fishing: Lake Powell is home to an array of fish like largemouth bass, striped bass, walleye, channel catfish, crappie, and bluegill — offering plenty of opportunities to fish. So, you’re likely to be able to catch your own dinner, and dinner for all your guests! In order to fish, you need to purchase a fishing license online,  at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, or the Arizona Game and Fishing Department.
• Kayaking: You can use your houseboat as a home base and kayak to explore the 96 different canyons found in Lake Powell.
• Powerboating: If someone in your group has a boating license, you can opt for faster speeds and water sports. Wakeboarding, water skiing, kneeboarding, and tubing are all great ways to spend a day in the sun.
• Personal Watercraft: Looking for a personalized way to get around the water that’s faster than paddling yourself? Add personalized watercraft rentals to your houseboat rental experience to zip and zag across Lake Powell.
• Paddleboarding: This is another peaceful way to explore Lake Powells’ beautiful shorelines and canyons. Sturdy enough to balance even the most ungraceful of adventures, paddle boarding can be a fun way to see Lake Powell up close and personal!

Plan Your Meals

Each Lake Powell houseboat rental comes equipped with a fully stocked kitchen. This means that you can be completely independent and “off the grid” for your entire trip, if that’s how you want to spend your time off.

In Wahweap, if you forget anything, there are plenty of stores to restock groceries, fishing gear, or sporting equipment—including Wahweap Marina, Doc N Stock, Dangling Rope Marina Wahweap Campground, and Lake Powell sports.

Bullfrog, Utah is fairly remote. So, if you have chosen a Lake Powell houseboat rental at Bullfrog Marina, you’ll need to stock up on groceries in Moab or Mercantile. There are sundries available at Bullfrog Marina, but for a proper grocery store, you’ll need to come prepared.

With this knowledge in hand, you should be ready to plan your end-of-summer trip to Lake Powell! Let us know in the comments if you have any questions that we didn’t answer!